NARUTO : AFTER THE WAR
by pheonixarises
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War has ended. Everyone is looking forward to a peaceful life. Naruto is now a symbol of perseverance and has the respect of every shinobi on the battlefield.He now expects to lead a quiet,peaceful life...a normal life...and it seems possible..or..is it? pairings will become clearer as the story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**NARUTO:AFTER THE WAR**

**A NEW BEGINNING**

**CHAPTER 1**

**3 DAYS AFTER THE WAR HAD ENDED**

*_Madara had been defeated. The First Hokage and Naruto together had put an end to him and sealed him with the help of the Fourth Hokage and some priests from the Fire Temple in one of the most intricate seals the world had ever seen_*

"Approximately 50,000 shinobi have sacrificed their lives in this terrible battle. We have lost 2 complete villages in the random attacks of Juubi in addition to our headquarters. Along with it, the entire warzone was in the middle of a flourishing trade route. So it goes without saying that trade through this area is also at a standstill. Also, all the villages have contributed their best in weaponry and other resources like food and wood. So its safe to assume that we are low on them too. That completes the initial battle assessment keeping in view that data is still coming in as we speak."

Mabui, the Raikage's aide finished reading off a scroll and bowed to the assembly. It was quite a room of people. Not because of the size or its location in the middle of a battlefield, but due to its participants. She was lucky to be one of the few people who had been allowed to be in the room, Mabui thought.

As she walked back to her place, she was still in awe of what had happened over a span of a month. The attack on the Five Kage meeting, Raikage-sama losing his arm, the formation of an alliance, the war, the losses, the wins, the heroes….ahhh..the heroes. Most, if not all of them, were present in this room, under a single roof. If someone had told her a couple of months before that there would be a war where dead people will fight and that the villages will seek help from the tailed beasts and their Jinchuriki, she would have laughed her head out and asked Raikage-sama to send that person for a mental checkup.

She couldn't help but once again scan the people present in the room. A huge table had been setup at the head of the room. It seated all the five Kage, Mifune, the commander of the Samurai, the first, second, third and fourth Hokages and an empty seat. She thought she knew who it was for. But then again, who wouldn't.

A slight distance from the table were chairs in 3 rows. Hatake Kakashi, Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, Darui, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankurou, Shizune, Ao and some jounin from every village took up the seats. Every individual in this room was exemplary, in his or her own right. 10 ANBU guards were present for security, though she couldn't come up who they were guarding against. Nobody was stupid enough to attack this assembly. Especially not now, when they had literally conquered the creator, the Juubi, which was the origin of all chakra.

Still, a man was missing from this gathering and he was the reason the reason the meeting could not take up its next agenda. Nobody blamed him though. If it were not for him, they would all be in a dreamy state staring at the moon.

Outside, at the other end of the battlefield sat together a group of shinobi. They were all childhood friends and were usually full of talk but were strangely quiet today.

Naruto was the first to speak up. "So, the war has finally ended huh."

Hinata looked up from her feet at the man she loved most and said "y-y-yes Naruto-kun. And it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for you". She turned a deep shade of red saying this.

"Ohh common, now don't you again faint on me Hinata" Naruto said and the group started laughing and she turned an even deeper red.

"Chann-araaa" *thud*

"OWW…Sakura-chan..you didn't need to hit me that hard. And by the way, why did you even hit me?"

Sakura sighed and said "its enough hard as it is for Hinata to accept her feelings in front of everyone for you. Don't make it even harder, you moron."

This cracked up the group again and everyone was laughing except Naruto. He just had a hint of smile on his face as he mentally captured the time and the scenes. _Its seems like such a long time seeing everyone so happy. Anyone who tries to take this laugh away from my friends will have my wrath, _he decided.

Ino was silent. She was smiling at the jokes but not participating. It saddened Naruto to see her like this and it showed on his face. He was about to say something when Choji touched his shoulder and whispered "She'll be alright Naruto. Don't worry. But she needs time."

Naruto just nodded. His silence drew the attention of the group. Sakura looked like she wanted to say something but stopped in the middle. It was Kiba who spoke up.

"Oiiiiii Naruto…don't you think even for a second that all that happened gives you a free pass to become the Hokage. You'll still have to fight me for that title…huhh". Akamaru snorted at it and again laughter erupted.

Shino suddenly started talking from somewhere "It will be a waste of time and energy for that kind of a fight. Why because Naruto has surpassed all of us and is the most deserving candidate in Konoha. Even the villagers support him. On the other hand, Kiba, it seems even your dog is not on your side this time."

People tend to forget that he was there but he had grown accustomed to that.

His response though got laughter again from the group with Hinata tried to stop Kiba from punching Shino in the face.

"Will you please stop with your stupid logic all the time? Unhand me Hinata…." Kiba retorted.

"Talking about logic reminded me. Where is Shikamaru? I haven't seen him for a while now." Sakura asked, completely ignoring Kiba's ongoing insults at Shino.

"I…90..think…91…he…92…is…93…at..94…" Lee started to say something but was cutoff by Hinata.

"Umm..Lee-san..you can stop training now. The war has ended. You should rest a bit."

Lee jumped down the tree and said "No Hinata-san, we should always be prepared. Guy sensei has distinguished himself in the war. I also want to follow my sensei's footsteps. I cant let him down..this is the springtime of my youth..95..96..97..98.." he started doing push-ups again.

This drew a huge sigh from everyone but Ino had cheered up a bit by now and said "Lee kun, atleast tell us where Shikamaru is please".

"Ohhhh….right..i think he is in that large tent in the middle of the battlefield along with Guy sensei and Kakashi sensei. It's a meeting of all the Kage and really powerful ninja. And Guy sensei made it there in his youth…" Lee started again.

This time Ino sighed.

"Its time they all sat together. Its been a really tough time for the higher-ups too. I wonder how Tsunade-sama is doing" Sakura said.

All of them fell really silent suddenly as they all realized that they had yet not addressed a very pressing question and it showed on Naruto's face.

Only Sakura had the courage to bring the topic up and it was hard for her too. But she said it anyway "Naruto..what do you think Sasuke is going to do now? Or should I ask what will they do with Sasuke?"

The question gathered everyone's attention. Even Lee stopped his push-ups and Choji paused eating his chips.

For a couple of minutes, Naruto was silent. It seemed he hadn't even heard the question but suddenly he lifted his head and was about to say something but was suddenly interrupted by someone else's voice.

2 cloud ninja were running towards them yelling "NARUTO-SAMAAAAA".

After the war, everyone who had seen Naruto fight had a new respect for him and it seemed they had collectively decided to bestow upon Naruto the title of "Lord". The first couple of days Naruto tried to stop people from calling him that but had failed. Today he was too tired to even try.

"Ummm..what is it guys?" Naruto stood up.

"Naruto-sama, the supreme commander of Allied forces, Raikage-sama requests your presence at the meeting of the Kage. He asked me to remind you that you are late by 30 minutes now. He understands that you are tired but requests your presence as soon as possible, sir. What should we tell him?"

Before Naruto could reply, Sakura spoke up "wait a second..remind him? Naruto…don't tell me you were invited to the Kage assembly but you were passing your time here laughing…" She looked scary as she said these words and Naruto was visibly frightened with her look and was thankful to the cloud ninja. He knew if it wasn't for them, he would probably be getting beaten up by now.

"Ummm…sakura-chan..dont get mad at me. I just forgot about it. And besides, I wanted to rest and enjoy and not attend some boring meeting. So I thought…."

Naruto shut up as he saw the look on Sakura's face. He immediately turned and said "Lets go guys. Its not safe for me to stay here anymore. HAHAHAAAA"

The whole group laughed as Naruto walked away.

Choji said "From a brat who was the nuisance of the village to being called Naruto-sama, our Naruto sure has come a long way".

Everyone silently agreed. But most of all, it was Sakura. She had tears in her eyes.

The room suddenly fell silent as the door opened and the man of the hour entered.

Naruto stopped in his tracks as everyone was either seeing him with reverence or respect. The looks in people's eyes had surely changed from the time he was a kid. He looked over to his father. The Fourth Hokage smiled. He was proud of his son.

Kakashi was at his side in an instant.

"Come now, Naruto. Take your seat at the table. We have been waiting for you."

Naruto was embarrassed at being asked to sit at the same level as Kage. _He is red as his mother's hair_..Minato thought with a smile.

Naruto finally came to the table and sat. All the attention in the room was still on him.

The Raikage said "now that all the members are finally here. Lets begin the meeting."

And with that began the meeting that would decide the future of all the shinobi in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys. This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction. So it'll be a huge help if you could please rate and review. I have a few ideas to develop the story but constructive criticism to improve the writing is most welcome.**

**P.S: The story building will be a bit slow. But I promise action when the time comes. Don't hate me too much for the pace ;)**

**Hope you enjoy the story….**

**CHAPTER 2**

_Somewhere in the Land of Water._

_Its a rather odd placement for such a majestic temple, _thought the ninja who had been watching it from a camouflaged vantage point for the past couple of days. The structure in question was the Hidden Mist Temple. But what intrigued him most was the deployment of what seemed to be around 20 mist ANBU guarding this temple even during a crisis such as the Fourth Great Ninja War. He wondered what treasures it might hold for the Mizukage to spare 20 of her elite ninja for just the protection of a temple. And moreover, his captain had taken an interest in this temple. That removed any residual doubt in his mind about its importance. His thoughts started to wonder but were interrupted by the sudden tingling at the back of his hand.

_About time, _he thought and made a few hand seals and disappeared.

An ANBU noticed the sudden change of chakra signatures in the surroundings and activated his senses. He found nothing abnormal and brushed it off as some harmless villagers passing by. Little did he know that he couldn't have been more wrong.

_On the battlefield_

The Raikage started speaking "As we all know, this meeting has been called to decide the future of the Five Great Nations. Keeping in view the reasons for this entire war, the result of pain of a single hurt individual forced us to join hands in an unprecedented alliance and we must make sure that such conditions should not arise again where we are forced to lose so much in such a short span. Though these are the issues of the current generation, and we are supposed to find solutions for it, I can't ignore the expertise and wisdom of the previous generations of Hokage."

Tsunade smiled wryly beneath her hands. _The war has changed even someone as stubborn as the Raikage. Before the war, he would have died before uttering these words, _she thought.

The First to Fourth Hokage just smiled and nodded at the compliment. The first Hokage seemed to want to say something but was stopped by a curt shake of head by his brother, the Second Hokage. Naruto noticed it and smiled to himself. _It would be nice to have someone like a brother, _he wondered but quickly saddened when he remembered that that someone will probably be put in jail or forced into some kind of punishment for all he did.

Minato, the Fourth Hokage, noticed the crestfallen look on his son's face and just said "Don't worry Naruto. You will have your friend back."

Naruto smiled at how easily his dad read his thoughts. He was lucky to have met him.

The Tsuchikage was looking down but his voice was firm "I had been a stubborn old geezer till this war. I believed that true peace can never be achieved and the only way to survive was through fighting and proving the strength of my village. But the current generation has changed my views."

He looked up at Gaara and Naruto.

"But now I believe this generation has the capability, the dynamics, and the sheer will to coexist, to recognize each other's strengths, to accept their own weaknesses and strive to create a shinobi world which doesn't have useless deaths leaving in its wake only pain and suffering."

The Third Tsuchikage Ohnoki seemed to choke on his words. But he was having a profound effect on everyone in the room. The usually detached ANBU guards also looked interested in what he was saying, though you can't exactly tell what was going on under those masks.

"I, on behalf of the Hidden village of Stone, propose to continue this alliance with the other Four Great Nations and to immediately cease-fire any intermittent fighting between the nations. Any conflict of ideas and opinions from here on out be first dealt by the Kage of the respective nations through peaceful means and resort to violence be reprimanded. Also, every village be recommended to have embassies of the other nations and the commander of the Land of Iron, Mifune-sama be the watchdog of our treaty." The Tsuchikage completed his proposal.

Gaara stood up and said "Tsuchikage-sama, I can imagine how hard it can be for a man of your stature to bow down and initiate something like this. I appreciate the gesture and apologize for any harsh words I may have spoken in the past. Also, on behalf of the hidden village of wind, I support your proposal and move it forward as a permanent treaty."

There was a murmur of approval in the Jonin benches. Kakashi was impressed with the humility which the Kage were displaying. _At least the war bought something good with it, _he thought.

Tsunade cleared her throat and the murmurs fell silent. "It's a matter of great sadness and shame that both Madara and Obito were a product of Konoha. That being said, its also true that the system of shinobi the world currently has and the constant infighting also shares the blame for whatever happened. Its our duty as well as common sense to learn things from this terrible war. I, on behalf of the hidden village of Leaf, support this treaty and accept to the terms set forward."

Mizukage started speaking "The pain that comes with senseless killings is horrible. The hidden mist, in particular, has been the victim of brutal deaths under the Fourth Mizukage, who had been found to be under a genjutsu placed by Uchiha Obito. I had promised my village when I was chosen to be the Mizukage that there will be no more deaths by stupid reasons. And I intend to keep good on that promise. On the behalf of the hidden village of Mist, this treaty has my respect and my approval."

Ao was sitting on the chairs in front of the table. _Mizukage-sama, nicely said. I am proud of you, _he thought.

All the ayes fell on the Supreme commander of Allied forces. The Raikage was known to be the stubborn of all and his village didn't had a single member in the Akatsuki.

_He could be a problem. Though he also has suffered losses, he and his village don't have a single regret as a motivator for joining the treaty. But it will also be pointless to take on all the four other villages at once. What will you do, Raikage-sama? _Shikamaru pondered.

The Raikage remained silent for a couple of minutes. Then said "I am known for my strength and stubbornness. But even I am not stupid so as not to see what could be achieved with a treaty between the Five Great Nations. Also, we all are extremely low on man-power. The people and resources we have should be better used for reconstruction and rehabilitating those families who have lost someone dear to them. I, on behalf of the hidden village of clouds, accept this treaty."

The hall erupted in claps by all the jonin present. Naruto was happy, very happy to see how things were progressing. He joined the clapping. So did the First Hokage.

He stood up with tears in his eyes and a look on his face that said it all. Everyone was interested in what the man revered as the God of Shinobi had to say.

He started speaking "This treaty today reinforces my belief in my successors." Looking at the Five Kage he said "you have achieved today what I had dreamt of long ago. You all make me proud. It will be the work of the next generations to honor this great treaty and work for each other's prosperity. War only brings pain. Remember it. I now feel like my work here is done on earth."

He still had tears. But Naruto could see that those were tears of happiness.

The commander of Samurai, Mifune spoke up "Its an honour for the Land of Iron to be a part of this great treaty. We vow to make sure the treaty is respected and followed. I call this the Great Shinobi Treaty. And its in effect from now onwards."

Again claps erupted in the room.

It was a pleasant sight. The Five Kage, who are usually stiff in their manner, were also smiling this time.

Naruto said, "Gra- I mean Hokage-sama, can I say something?"

Tsunade nodded her head and smiled. She knew what Naruto was going to ask.

The hall fell silent as he started speaking "There could not be a better opportunity for me to say this. I actually want to…umm..ask all of you for something."

He looked at the Five Kage as he said this. All of them nodded.

"The Five Great Nations are wealthy and prosperous. They have huge lands and can afford a strong defense and shinobi system. But there are a lot of small countries which are not strong enough to protect themselves. Over the years, these countries have become fighting grounds for other powerful nations. After the wars, the bigger nations rebuild themselves, but the smaller nations are abandoned with lots of orphans and lots of hatred. One such village is the Hidden Rain and one such orphan was Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki. That suffering he went through was the prime motivator for the destruction his organization had brought upon all the villages."

He paused. He knew he had to select the next few words very carefully. And he had never been great with words. The first and second Hokage beamed at him with pride. It seemed they also knew what he had in mind.

"I don't know how complicated things like treaties work. I am inexperienced and quite frankly, dumb in these matters. But I know this. I don't want to live in a world where we plunder the lives of innocent families just to prove our dominance to someone. With this treaty, I hope there wont be another war. But I want to make amends for the past. Its never late to help. I request all the five Kage to work out a way to contact and help those small countries as and when needed and also look after them. I don't even know if I am making any sense or not. I am also aware that we ourselves have greater problems at hand in our home countries. I just request your help as you are the most powerful shinobi in the world. But I had promised my sibling disciple that I would bring peace to his land. And that I will as I don't go back on my words.

Because that's my ninja way." 

The hall was silent for a moment and then broke into thunderous applause. _You have grown up, Naruto. And you will surpass all the previous Hokage. _Kakashi thought to himself as he clapped.

As the claps died down, Tsunade spoke up "Naruto, you have outperformed yourself in the war. You have led a hard life and given us your all. Yours is an honorable request. And the fact that its your request also carries some weight. I am sure we will work out a way to help the smaller nations."

She looked at the other Kage as she completed the sentence. They all nodded and Raikage said "Mabui, draw up a list of all the smaller countries and prioritize them on the basis of the losses they have suffered. Make copies of it and send it to all the Kage for further consultations."

"Yes, Raikage-sama." Mabui said as she jotted down his orders.

Naruto looked delighted to hear this. _Nagato, I wont let you down. _He thought to himself.

Mifune said "Now, to the next matter at hand. The decision about Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto went rigid at the name. The hall fell suddenly silent as Tsunade said "I want him to be present when we are deciding what to do with him. Is that acceptable?"

The other Kage nodded. Tsunade signaled at an ANBU guard and he disappeared.

Murmurs started rising up in the hall. Naruto believed that Sasuke has changed but did the others think so too? Also, that cant justify his actions at the Five Kage Meeting in the Land of Iron. He was lost in his thoughts when the door opened and the hall became quite.

Only one man entered the room.

Uchiha Sasuke.


End file.
